In recent years, significant steps have been made in the development of optical communication terminals (OCTs) in the Netherlands. A first big achievement has been made with CubeCAT, a successful demonstration of a Direct To Earth communication terminal. A next step is to make the technology more mature, robust and versatile. This project aims to make the technology suitable for the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) region with typically intense radiation levels and larger optical link distances.

The OCT controller development from previous and parallel projects is the input for this project together with the mission requirements for optical communication in MEO. It is envisaged that the MEO application will ask more performance from the controller. At the same time, the space radiation environment in MEO is such intense, that significant measures need to be taken on the current controller design. Radiation effects can be mitigated by applying a combination of; 1) more radiation hard components, 2) implementation of autonomous and fast recovery measures, and 3) innovative shielding materials.

The primary outcome of the COCARoSA 3 project is the successful development and validation of the MEO terminal controller avionics prototype. This prototype encompass a comprehensive suite of electronics hardware, fundamental software, programmable logic code (firmware) and shielding technologies. Radiation modelling, effects simulation and testing in radiation environments will be performed during the development and validation process. Serving as a foundational platform, the MEO Controller prototype enables the development, testing, and validation of code, as well as the integration and evaluation of peripheral hardware components, such as drivers and sensors.